Safety switch for ranges



June 9, 1953 c. M. HARDY 2,641,578

SAFETY SWITCH FOR RANGES Filed A ril 24, 1948 24M 9 Q mi ,A/fl

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POWER.

TO JOUQCL' OF ELECTRIC fnvenjof A YEZarwzce Har'y Patented June 9, 1953 2,641,678 SAFETY SWITCH FOR RANGES Clarence M. Hardy, Eflingham, Ill., assignor to Borg-Warner Corporation, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application April 24, 1948, Serial N0. 23,069

This invention relates in general to electric ranges and is particularly concerned with an electrical circuit including a safety switch for such ranges.

Heretofore, in prior art practices, expensive means were employed to overcome the hazard of children turning on the conventional voltage selector switches of electric ranges and thereby causing damage to the cooking utensils disposed on the stove or, more important, the chance that such children would burn themselves severely.

Accordingly, a principal object and accomplishment of the invention is to provide in an electric range an electrical circuit interconnecting a plurality of voltage selector switches, which are electrically associated with heating elements, to a source of electrical power, and interposing a safety switch in said circuit between said selector switches and said source of power, whereby the opening of said switch at the will of the operator will interrupt the current supply to said voltage selector switches, said safety switch being disposed on the backboard of said electrical ranges out of reach of small children.

The invention seeks, as a further object and accomplishment, to provide an electrical circuit including a safety switch disposed therein as contemplated herein and characterized by an arrangement of parts to more advantageously and satisfactorily perform the function required of it and adapted to provide a compact unit which will successfully combine the factors of structural simplicity and durability, and yet be economical to manufacture.

Another object and accomplishment of the invention is to improve the construction and arrangement of elements of the hereinbefore described electric circuit with respect to efliciency of operation; and to this end, an importantfeature of the invention is to provide an electrical circuit for an electrical range having a backboard panel, said electrical circuit comprising a source of electric power, a plurality of voltage selector switches respectively interconnected with a plurality of heating elements for said range, a common neutral supply circuit interlector switches and said source of electric power,

whereby the opening of said double pole single throw switch at the will of the operator'will 3 Claims. (Cl. 219-37) 2 interrupt the current supply to said voltage selector switches, said double pole single throw switch being disposed on the backboard panel of said range out of reach of small children.

Additional objects, features, and advantages of the invention disclosed herein will be apparent to persons skilled in the art after the construction and operation are understood from the within description.

It is preferred to accomplish the various objects of this invention and to practice the same in substantially the manner hereinafter fully described and as more particularly pointed out in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, which forms a part of this specification, wherein:

Fig. l is a front elevational view of an electrical range embodying the features of this invention and illustrating the disposition of various switches forming component parts of the electrical circuit contemplated; and

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatical illustration of the wiring diagram of the invention contemplated herein.

The drawing is to be understood as being more or less of a schematic character for the purpose of illustrating and disclosing a typical or-preferred form of the improvements contemplated herein, and in the drawing like reference characters identify the same parts in the several views.

Referring to the drawing, particularly Fig. 1, wherein there is illustrated the various electrical switches forming component parts of the and 25 having disposed thereon voltage selector switches 26, 21, 28 and 29. An electric range as at A is usually provided with a backboard panel 38 and, in accordance with the construction of this invention, there is disposed thereon the safety switch 20, a heat control switch 3| and a selector switch 32.

Sufliceit to say, since the invention is not particularly concerned with the precise construcsuch construction particularly concerns the invention contemplated herein.

Having thus described, by way of example, a possible adaptation of the electric circuit including the safety switch contemplated herein, and having described the general environment surrounding the adaptation, the specific construction and cooperating functions of the parts of said electrical circuit including the safety I switch with which the present invention is particularly concerned, will now be described in detail.

In the exemplary embodiment of the invention depicted in Figs. 1 and 2, the electrical'circuit including the safety switch for an electrical range having a backboard panel comprises, in general, a source of electric power (not shown), a plurality of voltage selector switches as at 26, 21, 28 and 29 respectively interconnected with a plurality of heating elements 35, 36, 3! and 38 for said range, a common neutral supply circuit til interconnecting said source of electric power, and a second circuit M interconnecting said selector switches 26, 27, 28 and 29 to said source of electric power and including the double pole single throw switch interposed as illustrated between said selector switches and said source of electric power, whereby the opening of said double pole single throw switch at the will of the operator will interrupt the current supply to said voltage selector switches, said double pole single throw switch 20 being disposed on the backboard panel 3!] of said range A out of reach of small children.

In accordance with the construction of the present invention the safety switch 20 comprises the usual poles 42 (Fig. 2) and is provided with a rotatable face knob 43 which may be moved to either an off or on position at the will of the operator.

An important feature of the invention is the disposition of said face knob 43 on the backboard panel out of reach of small children. It is contemplated that a housewife may turn the face knob 63 of the safety switch 20 to its off position when she does not contemplate the use of any of the heating elements in the range. In this manner she will be free of worry that children may turn on the selector switches while playing in the kitchen'and cause damage to the utensils placed on the stove or cause injury to themselves.

It is readily apparent that the construction employed by the present invention is economical to manufacture and is more efficient than the complicated safety devices employed in prior art structures.

From the foregoing disclosure it may be observed that I have provided an electric circuit including a safety switch for electric ranges whichemciently fulfills the objects thereof as hereinbefore set forth and which provides nu- '4 merous advantages which may be summarized as follows:

1. structurally simple, efiicient, and durable;

2. Economical to manufacture and readily adaptable to mass production manufacturing principles; and

3. The provision of an electrical circuit including a safety switch which may be conveniently and advantageously adjunctively employed to conventional electric ranges and being disposed in a manner so that children can not cause injury to themselves or damage to the utensils disposed on the range.

While I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but wish to avail myself of all changes within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. For an electric range: means defining a cabinet including a front panel surface and a table top surface having a backboard panel extending upwardly from said table top surface at the rear of said cabinet, an electric circuit for said range, a two circuit heating element in said electric circuit and disposed on said table top surface, a first manually operable control means for said two circuit heating element for selectively controlling energization of one or the other or both of said two circuit heating element, and a second control means interposed in said electrical circuit and comprising a dial rotat able between on and off positions at the will of the operator to control energization and deenergization of said two circuit heating element independently of said first manually operable control means, said first manually operable control means being disposed on the front panel surface of said range and said second manually operable control means being disposed on the lower regions of said backboard panel of said range within convenient reach of the operator but out of reach of small children.

2. For'an electric range comprising a cabinet defining a front panel surface and a table top surface arranged with a plurality of electric heating elements and including a backboard panel extending upwardly from said table top surface at the rear of said cabinet, an electric circuit comprising a source of electric power, a plurality of voltage selector switches disposed in the upper regions of said front panel surface and respectively interconnected with said electric heating elements, a common neutral supply circuit interconnecting said selector switches to said source of electric power, and a second circuit interconnecting said selector switches to said source of electric power: an independently manually operable current interrupter switch comprising a dial rotatable between on and off positions at the will of the operator and disposed on the lower regions of said backboard panel remote from said voltage selector switches and interposed in said second circuit between said selector switches andsaid source of electric power, said current interrupter switch being arranged to interrupt the current supply to said voltage selector switches responsive to the manual rotation thereof by the operator.

3. For an electric range having a cabinet defining a front panel surface and a table top surface arranged with a plurality of electric heating elements and including a backboard panel extending upwardly from said table top surface at the rear of said cabinet: 2, current interrupter switch comprising a rotatable dial independently manually operable between off and on positions at the will of the operator, said electric range having an electric circuit comprising a source of electric power and a plurality of voltage selector switches disposed in the upper regions of said front panel surface and respectively interconnected with said electric heating elements, said current interrupter switch being disposed on the backboard panel remote from said voltage selector switches and interposed in said circuit between the selector switches and said source of electric power, and the current supply to said voltage switches being interrupted responsive to the manual rota- 6 tion of the rotatable dial of said current interrupter switch to the oil position by the operator.

CLARENCE M. HARDY. 

